Germany were held to a draw by a stubborn Australia in their friendly on Wednesday.
Australia gave Germany a tough friendly in Kaiserslautern on Wednesday, eventually coming away with a hard-fought 2-2 draw. The Socceroos came from behind to take the lead early in the second half, only to concede the game's final goal in the dying minutes of the match.
Germany got off to a wobbly start to the game, with Australia managing to create a couple of clear-cut chances in the first quarter-of-an-hour. Matthew Leckie managed to wriggle free of Benedikt Höwedes in the penalty area before stroking his shot wide; an opportunity swiftly followed up by Nathan Burns heading wide from point-blank range.
They were costly misses, as it took just 17 minutes for the hosts to break the deadlock. Sami Khedira nicked the ball on the halfway line and proceeded to charge the length of the field, before poking a perfect low ball for Marco Reus to slide home. It should've been 2-0 five minutes later, though Reus somehow fired wide after a hospital pass by Mile Jedinak sent him through on goal.
As the clock ticked on, Germany looked ever more like holding their lead to the halftime whistle. But suddenly, with five minutes of the opening period left on the clock, the Socceroos equalised. Some smart play from Burns saw him spin away from his marker and deliver a lethal cross for James Troisi to power home.
Things took an even more unlikely turn five minutes after the restart, when Ron-Robert Zieler was unable to stop a Jedinak free-kick from the edge of the area hitting the back of the net. It certainly wasn't the most perfect of free-kicks, though it did enough to deceive the Hannover shot-stopper and give the Socceroos the advantage.
Three minutes later Australia almost had a third, though Troisi curled his shot wide after a mazy run from the halfway line. The hosts looked rattled.
However, after taking the lead Australia gradually began to sink deeper, allowing Germany to steadily assert control over proceedings. Just past the hour Mesut Özil found an opening for Karim Bellarabi, though Matt Ryan managed to tip the makeshift wing-back's powerful effort over the crossbar.
Australia remained a threat on the counter and almost killed the game off in the final 20 minutes, though Leckie's header on an inch-perfect Tommy Oar cross sailed over the crossbar.
They paid a price for their profligacy, as Germany's pressure told inside the final 10 minutes. André Schürrle's low cross somehow found its way through a crowded penalty area to Lukas Podolski at the back post, with the substitute hammering his unstoppable effort past Ryan to level things up in what proved to be the last real action before Podolski fired wide when one-on-one in stoppage time.
Germany: Zieler; Badstuber (Rudy 46'), Höwedes, Mustafi; Hector, Özil, Khedira (Kramer 64'), Gündogan, Bellarabi (Schürrle 64'); Götze (Kruse 73'), Reus (Podolski 73').
Goals: Reus (17'), Podolski (82').
Australia: Ryan; Davidson, Devere, Wilkinson (Wright 78'), Franjić; McKay (Bozanić 78'), Jedinak, Milligan; Burns (Oar 61'), Leckie (Mooy 69'), Troisi (Jurić 87').
Goals: Troisi (40'), Jedinak (50').
Source SBNation.com - All Posts http://ift.tt/1Iwc9lg
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